Kristina Blake is new code enforcer in Airway Heights

After years of not having a code enforcer, the city of Airway Heights has brought in Kristina Blake to take over the new job.

Blake earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Portland State University in 2012 and went on to complete a master's online.

She has a lot of history in security as she was part of campus security at Central Oregon University and was the code enforcement officer for two years in Boardman, Ore. Most recently, she was living in Goldendale, Wash.

"This area seemed like a good fit for me," Blake said. "It seems to be the only place left in Washington that has affordable living."

With only having about a week under her belt, Blake says she has already noticed that her biggest problem in the area will be dealing with hoarders and cleaning up those areas.

"It is a huge health and safety issue," Blake said.

Another issue that she wants to tackle is to try to get RVs that are parked illegally on streets gone or within RV parks in the area.

"That is another huge quality of life issue," Blake said. "I want to work with council on the mobile home parks and the legalities of them."

She added that there is open sewage and trash everywhere around the properties that cause a lot of issues for the city.

"I will keep hammering at that one," Blake said. "That is a work in progress."

Another aspect of her position is being in charge of some community engagement. Blake said that is kind of an open part of the job right now, but she envisions helping with people reporting code violations online and making it easier for the public in general.

"I definitely want to get the community involved and help communicate with me," Blake said.

She hopes to eventually get a group of volunteers to come in and step in to help with cleaning up certain areas of the town.

With how fast Airway Heights has been growing, the City Council was a big advocate for getting a real position for a code enforcer to help with issues around town.

"I came in with a lot of goals for the city," Blake said. "It is going to be a battle, but once people see that we actually have a code enforcer, I hope they can work with me and help have a higher quality of living here. It is the perfect time to get code around here."

Grace Pohl can be reached at [email protected].